This invention relates generally to processes for simulating network communications using captured network packets and, in particular, world wide web browsing sessions that use the TCP/IP communication protocol.
Computer networks have been a boon to information sharing in modem society. Computer users are able to access network resources for useful data and to communicate with other computer users. These networks include local area networks, company wide networks, and wide area networks including the vast world wide web.
Computer users access and exchange massive amounts of data with other users and with network servers and web servers, including email, instant messaging, text files, web pages, and a variety of binary objects such as audio and video. Networks and the worldwide web have developed tremendously over the last few years to provide constantly changing and updated information and even the ability to dynamically create and distribute web pages and other information from real-time data. While real-time changes and dynamic information provide many benefits, there is no ability to simulate networks communications as they occur or after the fact.
The ability to simulate a network communication from captured data is useful because it allows review of what actually occurred, or is occurring, during a network communication. Although the ability exists to download the content and structures of network files and web sites, there is no ability to recreate or simulate an actual communication session between a computer user and network sources, whether as it occurs or after the fact. Therefore a need has arisen to capture network communications as they occur, to store those communications, and to reconstruct and simulate the actual network communication as it takes place, or after the fact, with respect to identity of user, timing, and content.